Welcome to Skagit County
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April 20, 2026 Contact: Sarah Stoner, Agricultural Lands Coordinator, 360-416-1417 Skagit County Protects 270 Acres of Farmland from Development in 2025In 2025, Skagit County's Farmland Legacy Program protected four farmland properties, permanently safeguarding another 270 acres of prime agricultural soil. Protected properties were in Bow (40 acres, 83 acres) and Mount Vernon (40 acres, 107 acres). The protection of Skagit County's USDA-designated prime farmland means these properties can no longer be developed into residential buildings and will instead provide essential soil and land for farming for generations to come. Skagit County's Farmland Legacy Program now protects 15,400 acres of prime farmland of regional and global significance. An agricultural conservation easement means that the owners can continue to farm on the land, and that it will remain farmland in perpetuity. The Farmland Legacy Program pays landowners for voluntarily limiting development on their farmland. Four intergenerational farm families came forward to protect their land in 2025: the Roozens, Nelsons, Peths, and Housers. In total, landowners received $585,000 for the permanent protection of prime Skagit County farmland. "The choice to protect their farmland for future generations demonstrates commitment to their family history and to the farming future of Skagit County," said the Board of Skagit County Commissioners in a joint statement. To read more about Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program's work in 2025, you can access the newly released annual report online. The 2025 report covers the following:
Protecting Land for Future Generations It is vital to quickly protect Skagit County farmland. As part of its 2022-2032 Strategic Plan, the County set a goal to protect 400 acres a year for the next 25 years. Keeping pace with this average means that by the year 2050, Skagit County will have protected 30% of its farmland. This amount of land is expected to be large enough to keep the County's agriculture industry afloat. At this rate, it will take 55 years to protect 50% of Skagit farmland from development. Despite strong land-use regulations, Washington state continues to lose farmland to development. Washington lost roughly 3,717 farms between 2017 and 2022 - about 14 farms per week - at nearly twice the rate of the previous decade, according to the Washington Policy Center. More than 50% of the nearly 100,000 acres lost between 2001 and 2016 was considered the state's best quality farmland, according to the American Farmland Trust . About the Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program The Farmland Legacy Program is a County-funded initiative that compensates landowners for placing a perpetual conservation easement on their land. Landowners retain ownership of their land and continue their farming operations as usual. The conservation easement stays with the land, no matter who owns it. To learn more about Skagit County's Farmland Legacy Program, visit skagitcounty.net/farmland or call (360) 416-1417.
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